Chinese New Year changes every year while the Canadian New Year always rings in at 12:00 am on January 1st. Have students do a project on the Gregorian calendar and compare it to another calendar. Some students will get excited about this assignment because they can compare it to the Star Wars Futuristic calendar. Although this Calendar is fictional, it will still teach the student many things about how calendars are created and the differences and similarities between calendars.
Independent or group work for this project. Two students will compare two calendars, three in a group will compare three calendars and four in a group compares four calendars. This ensures all groups are doing approximately the same amount of work.
Have students showcase their work on Bristol board for others to view the information. Students will present their work to their classmates or have it on display and have students move from one project to the next.
Interesting Extension: Select a date such as, January 30th, 2007 (Gregorian calendar) and all students must try to accurately calculate the year in their calendar. For example, January 30th, 2007 is the same as January 30th, 4705 (Chinese calendar). Have students print the alternative date on a piece of paper to be displayed with all of the other calendar dates. This will have a WOW factor.
Sub-Topics for Calendar Project
How the calendar days, weeks, and months were calculated
Who uses the calendar?
Compare the Gregorian calendar (Christian calendar) with your calendar
Holidays
What is the current year?
History of calendar
Interesting Facts
Why different calendars were invented
Writing the date
How would you design a calendar
Common Calendars in Use
Chinese Calendar
Christian Calendar
Jewish Calendar
Islamic Calendar
Coptic Calendar
Persian Calendar
Common Calendars Not in Use
Ancient Calendar
French Calendar
Mayan Calendar
Roman Calendar
Futuristic (Star Wars) Calendar
History of the Calendar
